Department for Education

Childcare: Staff

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of early years settings that will reduce (a) staffing ratios and (b) charges to parents following the changes to childcare staffing ratios announced in the Spring Budget 2023; and if she will make a statement.

Claire Coutinho: The government remains committed to supporting the childcare sector and providing flexibility to providers, to help more parents to access childcare in support of their working lives. On 15 March 2023, the government announced a significant new investment in childcare, worth over £4.1 billion by 2027/28. In addition, the government has decided to proceed with the proposed changes to staff to child ratios for 2-year-olds from 1:4 to 1:5, bringing English ratios in line with Scottish ratios.Early Years settings managers know their children and staff best. The department supports the judgement of managers and practitioners to work at the ratios that are right for the individual needs of their staff and children. The proposed changes to ratios are a statutory minimum requirement for settings, and there will be no obligation on providers to operate at the statutory minimums. As such, providers can continue to work to tighter ratios if they decide that is best for the children and staff in their setting. A full response to the consultation is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1142987/Childcare_regulatory_changes_government_consultation_response.pdf.Alongside the consultation, the department ran a survey of early years providers to establish the likely impact of the changes on the quality of provision. Findings from the survey showed the majority of group settings with 2-year-olds (70%) said they would be unlikely or very unlikely to change their provision if ratio requirements were relaxed, with 45% saying they would be very unlikely. 28% of group settings with 2-year-olds said they would be likely or very likely to make any changes to provision. This corresponds to 19% of all group settings, including those with and without 2-year-olds.Additionally, findings from the survey showed that just under half of the settings offering provision for 2-year-olds said they were very unlikely to implement the change. However, of the providers who were likely to move to new ratios, around three in five said that they would use any income or cost savings generated to improve the financial sustainability of the setting, and around half would use it to improve the quality of their provision. This could benefit children in the long run.The published survey is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1143005/Findings_from_the_early_years_staff-child_ratio_consultation_survey.pdf.

Childcare: Fees and Charges

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the hourly rate paid by the Government to childcare providers in respect of the free hours entitlements for parents for (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four year olds was in the (i) t2021-2022 and (ii) 2022-2023 academic year; what it will be for children of those ages in the (A) 2023-2024 academic year and (B) 2024-2025 academic year, and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish a breakdown of the (a) assumed and (b) actual uptake rate in hours of free childcare hours entitlements for (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four year olds in the (i) 2021-22, (ii) 2022-23, (c) 2023-24 and (d) 2024-25 academic year; and if she will make a statement.

Claire Coutinho: On 15 March 2023, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the hourly rates for the entitlements will be substantially uplifted, on top of additional investments announced at the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 and on 16 December 2022.The department will provide £204 million of additional funding from September 2023, increasing to £288 million by 2024/25, for local authorities to further increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers, with further uplifts to follow each year. This will include an average of 30% increase in the 2-year-old rate from September 2023 and means that in 2024, the average hourly rate for 2-year-olds will be more than £8 per hour, and around £11 per hour for under 2s. The average 3 and 4-year-old rate will rise in line with inflation to over £5.50 per hour from September 2023, with further uplifts beyond this.This funding is in addition to the £4.1 billion that the government will provide by 2027/28 to facilitate the expansion of the new free hours offer, under which all eligible working parents in England will, by September 2025, be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week, for 38 weeks of the year, from when their child is 9 months old to when they start school.The government does not currently provide early education entitlements for 1-year-old children. There is no data available on average hourly rates relating to that cohort.Average hourly rates for the 2023/24 financial year, not including the uplifts from September 2023 mentioned by the Chancellor in the Spring Budget 2023, were published on 16 December 2022 and are reproduced in the table below, which also includes average hourly rates for 2022/23 and 2021/22.Entitlement2021 to 2022 (£)2022 to 2023 (£)2023 to 2024 (£)3 and 4-year-old Universal Hours entitlement, average hourly funding rate£4.90£5.06£5.313 and 4-year-old Additional Hours entitlement, average hourly funding rate£4.81£4.98£5.233 and 4-year-old entitlements, combined average hourly funding rate£4.88£5.04£5.292-year-old entitlement, average hourly funding rate£5.55£5.77£6.00The department published take-up rates based on population and headcounts for the 15 hours early years entitlement for 2-year-olds and universal 15 hours entitlement for 3 to 4-year-olds in January 2022. These were 72% and 92% respectively. Data for January 2023 is not yet available. The government does not currently provide early education entitlements for 1-year-old children, so no data is available on take-up rates relating to that cohort for January 2022 or 2023. Notes on the average hourly funding rates:1. 1 Part Time Equivalent (PTE) is equivalent to 15 hours of childcare.2. National average hourly funding rates are subject to change when allocations are updated to make use of Jan 2023 PTEs and Jan 2024 PTEs, i.e., if these have different PTE distributions between local authorities.3. For 2021-22, the 3 and 4-year-old entitlement average funding rate is made up from a Universal Hours average of £4.90 and an Additional Hours average of £4.88. Both these entitlements are funded on the same EYNFF funding rates at LA-level, but they have different PTE distributions between LAs, e.g., Universal Hours has a higher proportion of total PTEs in London LAs, which leads to different national averages. These figures are based on final allocations.4. For 2022-23, the 3- and 4-year-old entitlement average funding rate is made up from a Universal Hours average of £5.06 and an Additional Hours average of £4.98. Both these entitlements are funded on the same EYNFF funding rates at LA-level, but they have different PTE distributions between LAs, e.g., Universal Hours has a higher proportion of total PTEs in London LAs, which leads to different national averages. These figures are based on initial allocations.5. For 2023-24, the 3- and 4-year-old entitlement average funding rate is made up from a Universal Hours average of £5.31 and an Additional Hours average of £5.23. Both these entitlements are funded on the same EYNFF funding rates at LA-level, but they have different PTE distributions between LAs, e.g., Universal Hours has a higher proportion of total PTEs in London LAs, which leads to different national averages. These figures are based on indicative allocations.6. The 3-4-year-old average figures for 2021-22 and 2022-23 do not include funding for the Teachers Pay Grant and Teachers’ pension employer contributions (TPPG) which from 2023-24 has been included in the hourly rate.

Childcare: Fees and Charges

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate her Department has made of the average hourly rate per child for a two-year old provided to childcare providers; and what estimate her Department has made of the average hourly costs to providers.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the the free childcare hours announced in the Spring Budget 2023, HC 1183, published on 15 March 2023, what estimate her Department has made of (a) the average hourly rate per child aged 3 and 4 years old that will be payable to childcare providers under that scheme and (b) the average hourly cost to providers of providing that childcare.

Claire Coutinho: At the 2023 Spring Budget, my right hon Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the hourly rates for the entitlements will be substantially uplifted. This is on top of additional investments announced at the 2021 Spending Review.The department will provide £204 million of additional funding from September 2023, increasing to £288 million by 2024/25, for local authorities to further increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers, with further uplifts to follow each year. This will include an average 30% increase in the 2 year old rate from September 2023 and means that the average hourly rate for 2 year olds will rise from the current £6 per hour in 2023/24 to around £8 per hour. The average 3 and 4 year-old rate will rise in line with inflation to over £5.50 per hour from September 2023, with further uplifts beyond this.This funding is in addition to the £4.1 billion that the government will provide by 2027/28 to facilitate the expansion of the new free hours offer. Under this offer all eligible working parents in England will, by September 2025, be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week, for 38 weeks of the year, from when their child is 9 months old to when they start school.Average hourly rates for the 2023/24 financial year, not including the uplifts from September 2023 announced in the 2023 Spring Budget, were published on 16 December 2022 and are reproduced in the table below.Entitlement:2023 to 2024 (£)3 and 4-year-old Universal Hours entitlement - average hourly funding rate£5.313 and 4-year-old Additional Hours entitlement - average hourly funding rate£5.233 and 4-year-old entitlements - combined average hourly funding rate£5.292-year-old entitlement - average hourly funding rate£6.00 The ‘Providers’ Finances: Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers 2021’ shows that the mean unit cost for all providers was £4.51 per child in 2021, with the median unit cost being £3.21 per child. This was a 12% increase in mean unit costs and 16% increase in median unit costs from 2019, representing an average 6% and 8% year-on-year increase. More recent data is not yet available.Notes on the average hourly funding rates:1. 1 Part Time Equivalent (PTE) is equivalent to 15 hours of childcare.2. National average hourly funding rates are subject to change when allocations are updated to make use of Jan 2023 PTEs and Jan 2024 PTEs, i.e., if these have different PTE distributions between local authorities.3. For 2023-24, the 3- and 4-year-old entitlement average funding rate is made up from a Universal Hours average of £5.31 and an Additional Hours average of £5.23. Both these entitlements are funded on the same Early Years National Funding Formula (EYNFF) funding rates at LA-level, but they have different PTE distributions between LAs, e.g., Universal Hours has a higher proportion of total PTEs in London LAs, which leads to different national averages. These figures are based on indicative allocations.Note on provider finances data:1. Unit cost is defined as the average cost per child per hour for all children of all ages in the setting, derived as the total weekly cost divided by an estimate of the total number of child hours per week.

Childcare: Staff

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Spring Budget 2023, if she will publish the labour market modelling which underpinned the decision to (a) pilot incentive payments to childminders signing up to the profession and (b) double incentive payments for childminders joining the profession though an agency.

Claire Coutinho: The department recognises that registering as a childminder can be costly, and the start-up grants will help new childminders to cover their expenses. The grant values take into account the likely costs of registering, which include undertaking training in paediatric first aid and applying for Disclosure and Barring checks.Childminders can choose to register with Ofsted or a childminder agency (CMA). The department is providing a higher grant to childminders registering with a CMA in recognition of the higher fees they charge. This is because Ofsted fees are subsidised by the government, and also because CMAs offer additional support and services to their childminders that Ofsted does not provide. For example, CMAs can support providers through registration and look after invoicing and other paperwork, and they have ready-made professional networks that they support and promote to providers. They are also required to provide at least 20 hours of practice development a year to their early years childminders although they can offer more than that. Our grant allocations reflect this fee difference, offering prospective childminders the flexibility to choose the pathway into the sector that best suits their needs.

Childcare

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of how many additional (a) childcare places and (b) early years staff will be required to deliver the entitlements on childcare announced in the Spring Budget 2023; and if she will make a statement.

Claire Coutinho: The department regularly surveys a representative sample of over 10,000 early years providers to gain insights into how they run their provision and the challenges they face. We also regularly survey over 6,000 parents to understand their usage of childcare.The data collected through these surveys is used to inform our methodology and the uplift required to meet the pressures providers face, and to evaluate the impact this will have on early years settings, early years staff, and on the sufficiency of childcare.The childcare and early years provider survey is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-provider-survey/2022.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Public Consultation

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which consultations published by their Department are awaiting a response; and when each of those responses (a) were initially planned to and (b) will be published.

Mark Spencer: Policy teams across Defra consult regularly during the policy development and implementation cycle. Information is available on gov.uk all open and closed consultations published by Defra including the closing date for open consultations and, where available, the Government's response. The Cabinet Office has published best practice ‘consultation principles’ for government departments.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Leasehold

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to end the distinction between qualifying and unqualifying leaseholders under the Building Safety Act 2022.

Lee Rowley: Developers and freeholders have a responsibility to remediate buildings to eliminate life-critical safety defects and the Government continues to work to ensure they do so. Where developers remediate buildings pursuant to a developer remediation contract entered into with the Department, they will do so on a whole building basis and the distinction between qualifying and non-qualifying leaseholders will not apply.Where 11m+ buildings do not fit into this category, Parliament considered this policy issue in 2022 and, through the Building Safety Act, determined that a threshold of owning three properties should apply for qualifying lease status. We continue to monitor the overall framework for building remediation and implement our approach based on the decision of Parliament last year.

Home Office

Afghanistan: Refugees

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral statement by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs to the House on 28 March on Afghan Resettlement Update, how much of the £1 million per day cost for hotel accommodation for the Afghan cohort is being charged to the development budget.

Robert Jenrick: Given the complexity of factors involved in calculating ODA spend, the Home Office does not categorise data on ODA spend in a way that makes it possible to answer this question.The Statistics on International Development (SID) National Statistics, published on GOV.UK, provides an overview of all UK spend on Official Development Assistance (ODA).

Ministry of Justice

Community Orders

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of offenders who have completed a community sentence, by region in England and Wales, in each year since 2010.

Damian Hinds: The data requested can be found in the tables attached. During 2020 and 2021, the number of court order completions was substantially reduced as a result of operational restrictions put in place in response to the pandemic. We are investing an extra £155 million a year into the Probation Service, enabling us to recruit thousands more staff, to help reduce re-offending and protect the public.Table (xlsx, 27.5KB)

Community Orders

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of offenders have had an early termination of a community order for having failed to comply with requirements of their order by region in England and Wales in each year since 2010.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of offenders have had an early termination of a community order for a conviction of offence by region in England and Wales in each year since 2010.

Damian Hinds: During 2020 and 2021, the number of court order completions was substantially reduced as a result of the operational restrictions put in place in response to the pandemic. Between 2010 and 2021, the number of offenders who had an early termination of a community order for failing to comply with the requirements of their order decreased by 76%. The information can be found in the attached tables.Table  (xlsx, 29.9KB)Table  (xlsx, 30.0KB)